Since the late 1990s, REN has been implementing and developing its own in-house quality, environmental, safety and occupational-health management systems.

In its electricity business, those systems passed their first formal landmark in April 2000, when certification was granted to REN’s quality management system for designing and building very-high-voltage power lines and substations in accordance with standard NP EN ISO 9001.

Since then, similar initiatives have followed in the environment and safety fields, with the introduction of an environmental-management system which adheres to standard NP EN ISO 14001, also covering activities subject to concession, as detailed in the agreement between the Portuguese state and Rede Eléctrica Nacional, as well as a wide range of safety activities in accordance with standard NP 4397 (OHSAS 18001).

With a view to widening the scope of those initiatives to all activities, to coordinate how they operate and to capitalize on the effort invested in them, in 2004 it was decided to introduce a simultaneous approach to all three systems.

In addition to the positive experience acquired, that decision was also based on considerations such as boosting inter-divisional cooperation, and helping the staff involved to develop a wider-ranging view of the company’s business, through development of the environmental-management system; capitalizing on the investment made in training a multi-skilled team; and the interdependent aspects created by the systems, plus the hoped-for efficiency gains and synergy created by combining our efforts in all three fields.

In the natural-gas business and transportation, also within Transgás’s sphere of business, the first stage of introducing an integrated management system included both environment and quality, and it was then expanded to cover health, hygiene and safety in the workplace.

The significant changes that have taken place in Portugal’s energy sector since 2006 have led us to restructure the company, which has naturally affected our management systems. In order to rationalize, we chose to establish a single, harmonized and integrated management system, which also encompasses safety, with the aim of preventing serious accidents involving hazardous substances. This was designed specifically for REN Atlântico and REN Armazenagem, given that those companies operate very hazardous establishments.

Currently, REN’s quality, environmental and safety management system covers every company in the group except for ENONDAS and REN Gás.